Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to distributed power generation systems and, more particularly, to a black-start of a distributed power generation system.
Description of the Related Art
In an Electric Power System (EPS), a black-start is the process of restoring power after an outage. In the case of a distributed resource island system, coordination is required between distributed energy resources (DERs) and a central controller. In a microgrid, a microgrid interconnect device (MID) is used for disconnecting (i.e., islanding) the system from the main grid or a larger microgrid. The central controller (which is the role of the MID) ensures that the island system is disconnected from the main grid or larger microgrid prior to black-start in order to prevent danger to line-workers. In addition, distributed energy resources need to receive a central command from a controller in order to prevent unwanted energization; for example, during installation or maintenance operations.
During a power outage, the central controller loses access to AC power and requires some form of energy storage or generation source, such as a super-capacitor, battery, or generator, to stay powered. However, such components undesirably add to overall system cost and adversely impact the system reliability.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for efficiently controlling power conditioner activation and de-activation in a distributed resource island system (DRIS).